Expandable easel



D. C. KILLEN EXPANDABLE EASEL Dec. 28, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 27, 1965 FIE--5- INVENTOR. DUNCAN C. K/LLf/V BY M #flZZ ATTOENEYS Dec. 28, 1965 D. c. KILLEN EXPANDABLE EASEL 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 27, 1963 INVENTOR. DUNCAN C. K/LLEN ATTORNEY Dec. 28, 1965 D. c. KILLEN EXPANDABLE EASEL 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 27, 1963 INVENTOR. CAN C. A /[./.E N

S's/ 4 15M ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,226,077 EXPANDABLE EASEL Duncan C. Killen, 2521 Durant Ave., Berkeley, Calif.

Filed June 27, 1963, Ser. No. 291,042 12 Claims. (Cl. 248-448) This invention relates to improvements in an expandable easel and more particularly to expandable easels of the type used by artists to support work surfaces upon which the artist draws or paints, such as those shown in my application Serial No. 84,309, filed Jan. 23, 1961, entitled Folding Easel, now United States Patent No. 3,095,665, and my application Serial No. 142,613, filed Oct. 3, 1961, entitled Wide Frame Folding Easel, now United States Patent No. 3,095,666, and the present application is a continuation-in-part of both of these prior applications.

Previously known easels generally support the work on a generally upright standard which may be mounted on a tripod or some other supporting structure. The standard contains various clamping devices to hold the stretcher frame or other forms. In general, such devices have been either extremely heavy and cumbersome or shaky and insufiicient in support for the work.

Various improved forms have been designed in an effort to obtain more satisfactory support for a given amount of structure. Nevertheless, prior known structures are generally inefiicient in the use of a standard behind a stretcher frame or the like and provide the entire support at the middle where support for the stretcher frame is not particularly needed, particularly where rather large stretcher frames are being supported. In addition, certain problems have arisen in providing easels which are suitable for various sizes of work and capable of providing the most efiicient support as the size of the stretcher frame or other work varies.

In my copending application Serial No. 142,613 filed Oct. 3, 1961, entitled Wide Frame Folding Easel, a structure is provided which is capable of supporting various sizes of stretcher frames or other work loads by providing for the addition of extension members or other such devices to increase the size and Supportability of the easel where increased size work was to be supported.

Although the structure of my copending application is eminently satisfactory for its purpose, it has been found that further improvements are obtained by making use of the generally upright standard as an adjustable support means to provide adjustability for the lateral support of the structure frame. In this way, maximum support is provided for the work being operated upon with a minimum weight structure. In addition, the advantages of foldability and capability of support on an uneven surface are provided together with an improved bracing system.

Accordingly, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide an expandable easel capable of adjustment to provide maximum support for various sizes of work pieces being supported so as to give an excellent amount of support for a relatively small weight of easel structure.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an easel of the character described in which the clamping means for holding the work in position on the easel extends laterally over a considerable distance so as to insure that pressure against the working surface of the picture will not swing the picture nor dislodge it from the clamping means.

A further object of the invention is to provide an easel of the character described which contains improved bracing structure capable of providing increased support against lateral pressure and yet capable of supporting the easel solidly on uneven surfaces such as warped floors or on the ground.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an easel which contains special clamps for holding Masonite,

canvas board or other semiflexible materials on which the artist might work.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an easel of the character described in which the clamping means and other supporting structure are especially designed so as to fold compactly when not in use and being adapted for rapid mass production from inexpensive materials.

Further objects and davantages of my invention will be apparent as the specification progresses and the new and useful features of my expandable easel will be fully defined in the claims attached hereto.

The preferred forms of my invention are shown in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this description, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view illustrating a typical form of the invention;

FIGURE 2, an exploded fragmentary view illustrating a structure that may be used for enlarging the length of certain of the members used in the easel of this invention when it is desired to provide such increased structures;

FIGURE 3, a cross-sectional view of a portion of the apparatus of FIGURE 1 taken substantially in the plane of line 3-3 thereof and illustrating a typical clamp that may be used for providing a laterally adjustable attachment for the vertical members in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 4, a cross-sectional view of a portion of the easel illustrating in greater detail the clamp shown in FIGURE 3 and taken substantially in the plane of line 4-4 thereof;

FIGURE 5, a fragmentary sectional view of a portion of the easel illustrating another adjustable clamp used in the embodiment shown in FIGURE 1 taken substantially in the plane of line 5-5 thereof;

FIGURE 6, a perspective view of the modified form of the invention illustrating an improved form of clamping means suitable for holding Masonite or other semiflexible boards;

FIGURE 7, a cross-sectional View of a portion of the easel of FIGURE 6 taken substantially in the line 77 thereof;

FIGURE 8, a fragmentary view, partly in section and partly broken away, taken substantially in the line 8-8 of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9, a sectional view of another portion of the easel of FIGURE 6 taken substantially in the plane of line 99 thereof;

FIGURE 10, a sectional view of still another portion of the easel of FIGURE 6 taken substantially in the plane of line 1010 thereof;

FIGURE 11, an exploded view of still another modified form of the invention illustrating two adjusted positions of the vertical upright standards of the easel of this invention together with a method of combining a plurality of easels to provide an especially large easel for especially large pieces of work;

FIGURE 12, a cross-sectional view taken in the plane of line 12-12 of FIGURE 11 illustrating a clamp that may be used for adjusting the members of the generally upright standards laterally;

FIGURE 13, a sectional view illustrating the clamp shown in FIGURE 12 as seen substantially in the plane of line 13-43 thereof;

FIGURE 14, a sectional view taken substantially in the plane of line 14-14 of FIGURE 11 illustrating a novel clamp that is suitable for clamping the easel in place and also capable of providing a foldable easel; and

FIGURE 15, a sectional view further illustrating the clamp shown in FIGURE 14 taken substantially in the plane of line 1515 thereof.

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, it should be understood that various changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the claims hereto attached Without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, there is shown in FIGURE 1 an easel 21 comprising a standard containing two generally upright members 22 and 23 held in position by horizontal members 24, 26 and 27. These upright members are secured to the horizontal members by means of adjustable clamps 28 and 29 which are capable of holding the generally upright members 22 and 23 at any desired substantially parallel spaced relationship from a side-by-side position at the middle of the horizontal members to the extreme end of the horizontal members. With this arrangement of parts, the generally vertical members may be adjusted to hold the work in optimum gripping positions on the front faces 31 and 32 of the upright members.

For example, as shown in FIGURE 1, a stretcher frame 33 (shown in phantom) is carried with its opposed members fitting against the front faces 31 and 32 of upright members 22 and 23 to provide an especially strong holding position for the stretcher frame and provide excellent support against lateral pressure when the artist is work ing toward each side of the stretcher frame. By providing the upright members with adjustable clamps, it is seen that various sizes of stretcher frames may be accommodated in this way to provide the matching relationship illustrated in the drawing.

In general, the stretcher frame or other work may be held in position on the upright members by any suitable clamping means known in the art or by the clamping means described and claimed in my patent applications cited above. In addition, the present invention provides an improved clamping means as illustrated in the embodiment of FIGURE 6 which is designed to hold slightly flexible boards.

In FIGURE 1, the clamping means for holding the work is simply a U-shaped clamp 34 having a flange 36 adapted to engage one of the members of the stretcher frame between the canvas and said member. The clamp also has an opposed flange 37 carrying a thumb screw 38 in position to apply clamping pressure between the stretcher frame and horizontal member 27. Although only one clamp 34 is shown, it will be appreciated that additional clamps might be provided to clamp the stretcher frame at a plurality of points on member 27 or one or both up right members 22 and 23.

In general, any suitable adjustable holding device may be utilized for clamps 28 which are capable of providing relative adjustment of the contact point between the horizontal member and the vertical member being held. A typical clamp 28 is illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 4 and FIGURES 12 and 13. This clamp is capable of providing a rapid clamping engagement between upright member 22 and horizontal member 27, yet which may be easily loosened and moved to new locations.

As here shown, the clamp 28 comprises a substantially square-shaped piece 39 which has a portion of two adjacent sides omitted as best seen in FIGURE 4 with the piece having the proper size to fit over the L-shaped member 22 in slidable but snug encircling relationship thereto. As shown, the clamp 28 also comprises a substantially Z-shaped bracket 41 having an end 42 adapted to fit against a surface of the horizontal member 27 and an end 43 adapted to receive the smooth shank 44 of special thumbscrew 46. The thumbscrew 46 is threaded through a wall 47 of the square-shaped piece 39 and has a shoulder 48 adapted to engage end 43 of the Z-shaped piece 41 together with a pointed end 49 adapted to engage a surface of member 22. With this construction,

the clamp 28 is slidable along with members to provide any desirable position thereof, and since point 49 provides a relatively small contacting surface, the clamp may be accurately positioned in any of a large number of positions.

Adjustable clamp 29 is more fully illustrated in FIG- URE 10 and simply comprises a U-shaped bracket 51 having one leg of the U fastened to either upright mem ber 22 or 23 as the case may be by any suitable fasten ing means such as screw 52 and the other leg of the U carrying thumbscrew 53.

Adjustment of the relative position of horizontal member 24 and upright member 22 is accomplished by loosening thumbscrew 53 and moving the member 24 with respect to the bracket 51 until the desired position is reached and then tightening thumbscrew 53 to obtain a tight clamping engagement between the two members.

Another important feature of the invention is the provision of an especially strong brace which also assists in resisting twisting forces exerted when the artist puts a considerable amount of pressure on either side of the work. A preferred form of brace is shown in FIGURE 1, in which the brace comprises a horizontal member 26 which is preferably one of the horizontal members used to space the upright members and fits on the rear surface thereof, a pair of inclined prop members 54 and 56 attached at their upper ends to member 26 through suitable hinges 57 so as to pivot freely away from the rear of the generally upright standard and provide an adjustable angle therefrom, and a foot member 58 attached to props 54 and 56 at the lower end thereof by means of suitable brackets 59.

Preferably, the brackets 59 are similar to those shown in my application Serial No. 142,613 cited above so as to allow an angular variation between the foot member and the prop members slightly away from the horizontal. In order to secure the brace at the desired angle with respect to the upright standard and obtain an especially strong bracing structure, one or more base members 61 are provided to extend between the lowermost horizontal member 24 and the foot member 58 with the base members 61 being held by brackets so as to allow adjustment of the attachment between the bracket and the horizontal member or foot member or both. In this way, adjustment of the spacing at the foot of the easel is obtained to fix the angle that the brace members defines with the upright structure.

As shown in FIGURE 1, the lowermost horizontal member 24 attached to the generally upright members 22 and 23 is also a foot member adapted to rest upon the floor or ground and similarly constructed to foot member 58 of the brace. In FIGURE 1, there are also shown two base members 61, one at each side of the easel and this arrangement also provides an especially sturdy structure. In the form shown in FIGURE 1, the base members 61 are also adjustable with respect to both the lower horizontal member 24 and the foot member 58 by attachment through brackets 62. As best seen in FIGURE 5, these brackets 62 are generally U-shaped and have one leg of each U attached to either the horizontal member 24 or the foot member 58 by means of wood screw 63 or equivalent fastening means and have the other leg of the U carrying a thumbscrew 64 threadably mounted therein. In this way, thumbscrew 64 exerts a clamping force on member 61 when tightened, yet can be backed away to allow adjustment of the position of member 61.

With this construction, it is possible to adjust the angle or tilt of the easel by positioning the horizontal member 26 which contains prop members 54 and 56 in regard to its vertical position on the generally upright members 22 and 23, and also the spacing of the lower extremity of the prop members on the foot member 58 by adjustment of the base members 61. In this way, the easel may be tilted either toward or away from the artist at any desired angle. In addition, the base member 61 can be adjusted forwards or rearwards with respect to the easel depending upon the tilt so as to support the easel against falling over forwards r rearwards. In the form shown in FIGURES 1 and 5, toe pads 66 are also provided on foot member 58 and the lowermost horizontal member 24- to prevent scratching of a floor surface and provide a cushioned support thereon.

From the foregoing description, it is seen that I have provided an expandable easel in which various members have multiple functions so that an especially sturdy construction is provided with a minimum number of parts and the unit is capable of adjustment to fit various sizes of work pieces and thereby obtain maximum support therefor.

In FIGURE 2, there is illustrated a joint which may be used for extending any of the various pieces so that the easel may be enlarged either horizontally or vertically. Basically, this extension means comprises a pair of screws 67 having threaded sockets 68 adapted to receive a stud 69 which is threadable into both sockets. Accordingly, when it is desired to extend any of the members such as the generally upright members 22 and 23, the screw 67 is placed into the upright standard and a similar screw 67 is placed into an extension piece as indicated in FIG- URE 2. The extension piece then has stud 69 threaded therein and the stud 69 is then threaded into the other socket 68 to provide a solid grip for the two members. Preferably, the members are aligned so that when they are L-shaped, the final extension is tightened to conform and provide a continuous L-shape. In similar fashion, extension members may be provided for horizontal members 24, 26 and 27 and foot member 58. In this way, the easel of this invention may be provided with extension members so as to further adjust the size thereof when desired.

In FIGURES 6 through 10, there is shown an alternate form of the invention which contains much of the structure of the embodiment of FIGURES 1 through 5 but has an alternate base member system for holding the foot member of the brace in spaced relation to the lower horizontal member on the upright members. In addition, this embodiment is equipped with a special type of clamping means for holding the work in position on the upright members. This clamping means is especially suitable for holding slightly flexible work pieces having thin edges in rigid clamping engagement. Although these clamping means are shown on the embodiment of FIGURE 6, it should be understood that the various clamping means shown are interchangeable and may be used at any of the embodiments shown herein or other modifications coming within the scope of this invention. Similarly, the base members of FIGURE 1 could be applied to the embodiment of FIGURE 6 and the base member of FIGURE 6 could be used in the place of the base member of FIG- URE 1.

Referring more particularly to FIGURE 6, there is shown an easel containing generally upright members 22 and. 23 clampingly held to horizontal members 24, 26 and 27 by means of clamps 28 and 29 in similar fashion to the embodiment shown in FIGURE 1. The brace 55a is similar to the brace 55 except that its prop members are somewhat different from prop members 56 and base member 61a is somewhat different from base member 61, particularly in its attachment. Otherwise, brace 55a contains horizontal member 26 having the prop member 56a attached thereto by means of hinges 57 and a foot member 58 attached to the lower ends of prop members 56a by means of brackets 59.

The prop members 56a are constructed in two sections 71 and 72 and may have various lengths depending upon the attachment to each other. As here shown, the sections 71 and 72 are attached by suitable screws (not shown) or other fastening means extending through section 71 into holes 73 of section 72. When a shorter length is desired, the screws are removed from holes 73 and attached into holes 74. Although two possible lengths are shown herein for illustration, it will be appreciated that the prop members could be extended to various other lengths or could contain clamps such as those included in bracket 62 to provide a more universal adjustment, if desired.

Base member 61a is adapted to hold the foot member 58 a fixed distance from horizontal member 24 and serve the same general function as the base members 61 of FIGURE 1. Although the base member 61a does not provide the sideways support provided by base members 61, it has the advantage of easy foldability simply by removing the member from one of the brackets and folding it into the plane of the member carrying the other bracket.

Foot member 61a is adjustably mounted between foot member 58 and horizontal member 24 by means of brackets 62a which contains thumbscrews 64a for clamping the member tightly within the bracket. Referring more particularly to FIGURE 9, it is seen that bracket 62a contains a channel section 76 adapted to fit over the base member 61 as shown, and a substantially L-shaped section 77 which is welded or otherwise secured to section 76 and contains a hole 78 into which a screw or other fastening means is inserted to hold the bracket against the member 58 shown in FIGURE 9 in phantom. Thus it is seen that the bracket 62a allows the base member 61a to be adjusted at any number of places along its length to provide an adjustable distance between the base of the easel for more versatile adjustment thereof. In this way, maximum rigidity may be provided for the easel depending upon the position to which it is expanded and the location of the work which in turn will depend upon the preference of the artist.

In order to provide more rigidity to the easel when the easel is placed on certain types of floor surfaces, :1 modified set of toe pads 660 are provided in the shape of suction cups according to any conventional suction cup construction.

As mentioned above, the easel illustrated in FIGURE 6 through 8 is equipped with special clamping devices for holding flexible work on the easel. When the work is rigid and has comparatively large edges, the clamping members described in my copending applications cited above and illustrated in the embodiment of FIGURE 11 is preferred, but Where the Work is of relatively thin sheet material such as Masonite, the edges do not provide sufficient means for gripping by such clamps and a special clamping means is required.

In general, it is proposed to utilize a pair of clamping devices that grip the edges of the thin sheet material and tend to turn it outward to provide an extra firm grip. Specifically, this gripping is provided by a pair of split tubes adapted to fit over each edge of the easel with a portion thereof abutting the edge of the easel together with means of rotating the split tubes so as to cause the portion of the tube gripping the edge to move relatively toward one another and provide a squeezing action on the thin sheet material. Thus in FIGURE 6, there is shown a clamping means which contains a pair of sheet holders 78 and 79 held in the spaced horizontal members which in turn are adjustably mounted on the generally upright members 22 and 23.

As here shown, the generally horizontal members utilized are members 25 and 27 which are similar in construction to member 26 and adjustably clamped with clamps 28 as explained above. Each sheet holder 78 and 79 comprises an elongated split tube 81 constructed of a suitable metal or the like, and means 82 for rotating the split tube 81 so as to bring the outer surfaces of the tube relatively toward one another. Thus the tube 81 mounted on member 27 is rotated in the direction of arrow 33 when the piece is being tightened.

As best seen in FIGURES 7 and 8, the means 82 comprises a hinge 83 carrying a thumbscrew 84 fit therethrough and a wing nut 86 for clamping the plates 87 and 88 of the hinge relatively toward each other. The elongated split tube 81 contains a slot 89 for tightly receiving the lower end of plate 87 and a large opening 01 for allowing rotation of the tube 81 with respect to the upper portion of plate 87. The tube 81 is mounted on the plate 88 by means of a rivet 92 or similar fastening means which is mounted in tube 81 through a slot 93 which allows rotation of the tube 81 with respect to the plates. The means 82 is mounted on a horizontal member 27 by means of thumbscrew 84 and spaced therefrom by block 94 so that the curved ends of tube 81 fit tightly against the front faces of generally upright members 22 and 23.

If desired, the easel of this invention may be provided with clamping means such as those illustrated in the embodiment of FIGURE 11 together with the clamping means 82 just described so that the artist may select either one depending upon the type of work to be held. Thus it should be understood that certain of the parts of the various embodiments are interchangeable and particular parts are shown in diiferent embodiments as illustrations for these particular parts. However, the general form of easel illustrated in this invention which contains a pair of generally upright members is required to provide the advantageous maximum lateral support mentioned above and this extra lateral support is valuable with most any type of clamp.

In the embodiment of FIGURE 11, there is shown a third form of easel which also has the ability of being joined to one or more similar easels. Thus easels 21b and 210 are substantially identical differing only in the adjusted position of the generally upright members. These two positions are shown to illustrate how the generally upright members may be adjusted.

In addition, the embodiment of FIGURE 11 illustrates how a plurality of easels may be joined together laterally so that two or more units may be connected to provide especially large supporting structures for especially large pieces of work. In the event that additional vertisupport is required, the extensions illustrated in FIGURE 2 can be used together with the lateral attachment illustrated in FIGURE 11.

In its basic form, the easels 21b and 21c each comprise generally upright members 22 and 23 held in adjustable spaced relation by horizontal members 24 and 26 by means of adjustable clamps 28 and 29 in the same manner as in the embodiments of FIGURES 1 and 6. However, easels 21b and 210, as here shown, contain a modified form of brace 96 and show an alternative form of clamping means for holding the work in position on a generally upright standard. These clamping means comprise a pair of clamping bars 97 together with means for holding the clamping bars in the proper desired position on the upright members.

The clamping bars 97 may be the same type of clamping bars as those described in my above cited patent applications or they may be a modified form thereof. In the specific form described in my copending patent application cited above, the clamping bars were mounted on a generally upright standard having a vertically extending slot adapted to receive the means for holding the clamping bars on the standard and tightening them against the stretcher frame or like work. When it is desired to utilize clamping bars of this nature on the easel of this invention, the upright members 22 and 23 are positioned close together as shown in the embodiment 21b of FIGURE 11 to provide a substantially vertical slit therebetween. This slit then is utilized for holding the clamping bars in accordance with my above cited patent applications. FIGURE 12 illustrates in detail how the clamps 28 are utilized to bring the generally upright members relatively close together by simply adjusting their positions on bar 26 through operation of thumbscrews 46 as explained above in connection with the embodiment of FIGURE 1.

The brace 96 is basically similar to the brace of the embodiment of FIGURE 6 except that a single prop 98 is utilized to attach the foot member 58 in angular relation to the upright members. This prop 98 is attached to horizontal member 26 by means of hinge 99 which is generally similar to hinge 57 but preferably of a wider construction to resist twisting forces. The other end of the prop 98 is attached to the foot member 58 by a screw 101 or by the bracket means illustrated in my above cited patent application Serial No. 84,309 filed Ian. 23, 1961.

The distance between foot member 58 and the lower horizontal member 24 serving as a forward foot member is adjusted by base numbers 61b and 610 by brackets 62b and 620 in the same manner as that described for the adjustment of brackets 62a in the embodiment of FIG- URE 6.

An important feature of the present invention is that provision of laterally adjustable members to support the Work near the edges thereof and which are adjustable to fit various widths of work pieces. In general, the upright members will be adjusted to serve this purpose but in the embodiment 21b shown in FIGURE 11, the upright members cannot serve this function while they are positioned close together to form a slot. In such a case, I prefer to add auxiliary backing means 102 adjustably mounted on one of the horizontal members by a U-shaped bracket 103 having a thumbscrew 104 threaded therethrough for pushing against the back of the work at the sides thereof. These auxiliary backing means are particularly suitable for stretcher frames, and in such a case, the thumbscrews 104 are screwed against the lateral frame members of the stretcher where large clamping pressures can be exerted.

The clamping bars 97 illustrated in FIGURE 11 are an improved form of my clamping bars described and claimed in my copending application cited above. Basically, these clamping bars contain a member having a substantially triangular shaped cross-section adapted to carry L-shaped members thereover with the L-shaped members movable with respect to the triangular members. On anchoring of the triangular members to the easel standard, an extremely strong clamping force may be obtained by moving the L-shaped channel members relatively closer together by a screw action operating into the triangular bars. Thus the clamping bars 97 each comprise an elongated member 106 having a substantially triangular configuration, L-shaped bars 107 fitting over the member 106 and a thumbscrew 108 anchoring into the elongated bars 106. The thumbscrews 108 may be angular and adapted to anchor to the elongated slot as described in my earlier copending applications, or they may be anchored directly into elongated members 106 as shown in the present application. The L-shaped bars 107 are tightened by means of wing nuts 109 against the stretcher frame 111 as best seen in FIGURE 15.

As a feature of this invention, an improved bracket 112 is provided for holding the elongated members in place on the generally upright members 22 and 23. This bracket has a quick disconnect system associated therewith so that the artist may loosen the bracket by a simple movement and adjust its vertical position and then tighten the bracket by a reverse simple movement. All this can be accomplished without the need for turning a screw or looking at the bracket. In this way, the artist can concentrate on leveling the clamping bars to the desired position quickly and accurately.

Bracket 112 generally comprises a channel section 113 adapted to carry the elongated members in close sliding relation therein, and a generally open square section 114 adapted to fit closely on a generally upright member 22 or 23. With this construction, the square brackets are adapted to slide vertically on the upright members and be positioned therealong at any desired location while the open channel section 113 is adapted to allow the elongated members to slide horizontally with respect to the bracket. In this way, the clamping bars 97 serve as auxiliary horizontal members for holding the generally upright members in the desired position and serve the double function of strengthening the easel as well as holding the work.

The quick disconnect system associated with the bracket 112 may be any suitable quick clamp. As here shown, a quick clamp 116 is threadably secure in bracket 112 and adjustable by rotation thereof. The quick clamp, generally comprises a screw 117 having a shank 118 with a bifurcated end 119 and a pin 121 extending therethrough. A toggle 122 is pivotally mounted'on pin 121 and has a pointed end 123 for gripping the upright members and a handle 124 with which the artist rotates the toggle into and out of clamping engagement.

From the foregoing description, it is seen that I have provided an extendable easel capable of adjustment to give maximum support for various sizes and types of work. It is also seen that this easel is efiicient in design with various members serving a double function, capable of being folded for storage, yet exceptionally sturdy and able to resist strong forces that may be applied during use.

I claim:

1. An easel comprising a standard containing two generally upright members, a first horizontal member adapted to be held at the lower end of said generally upright members, a first pair of clamps for tightly holding said first horizontal member at the lower ends of said upright members with the distance between the first clamps and the lower ends of said upright members being adjustable, a second horizontal member adapted to be held at an intermediate position on said generally upright members, a second pair of clamps for tightly holding said second horizontal member at the desired intermediate position on said upright members with the horizontal distance between the second clamps being adjustable, a brace member hingedly attached to said second horizontal member; said brace including a foot member, a prop member extending between the second horizontal member and the foot member, a base member extending between the foot member and the first horizontal mem her, and an adjustable clamp for adjustably securing said base member to firmly hold said brace at a desired angle relative to said standard, and clamping means for holding work material in position on the front face of said generally upright standard.

2. The easel defined in claim 1, in which the generally upright members are constructed in two sections and include fastening means for temporarily attaching said two sections together.

3. The easel defined in claim 1, in which the brace includes a foot member, and a pair of prop members, said prop members each being hingedly attached to said second horizontal member at one end thereof and attached to the foot member at the other end.

4. The easel defined in claim 3, in which the length of the prop members is adjustable.

5. The easel defined in claim 1, in which the brace also includes a pair of base members extending between said foot member and said first horizontal member, and means for adjustably securing said base members.

6. The easel defined in claim 1, in which the first horizontal member contains a pair of suction cups on its level surface.

7. An easel for supporting a stretcher frame and the like comprising a standard containing two generally upright members, a first horizontal member adapted to be held at the lower end of said generally upright members, a first pair of clamps for tightly holding said first horizontal member at the lower ends of said upright members with the distance between the first clamps and the lower ends of said upright members being adjustable to space the lower ends of the upright members to correspond with the width of the stretched frame, a second horizontal member adapted to be held at an intermediate position on said generally upright members, a second pair of clamps for tightly holding said second horizontal member at the desired intermediate position on said upright members with the horizontal distance between the second clamps being adjustable to position the upright members directly behind the side edges of the stretcher frame, a brace member attached to the rear side of said easel, means for fastening said brace member at a desired angle relative to said standard, and clamping means for holding work material in position on the front face of said generally upright standard, said clamping means being carried on said second horizontal member and having a flange adapted to fit between the canvas and the stretcher frame, and means for pulling the flange toward said horizontal members to clampingly hold the frame between said flange and said member.

8. The easel defined in claim 7, in which the means for pulling the flange toward the horizontal member of the easel comprises a thumb screw carried on the clamp and threaded for movement with respect to said horizontal axis, a Z-shaped clamp adapted to be held on said horizontal member at one end thereof and containing walls defining a hole at another end thereof through which the thumb screw fits, said thumb screw containing a pointed end adapted to position the clamp with respect to the stretcher frame and a shoulder portion adapted to clampingly engage said Z-shaped bracket.

9. The easel defined in claim 7, in which the generally upright members are constructed in two sections and include fastening means for temporarily attaching said two sections together.

It). An easel for supporting a stretcher frame and the like comprising a standard containing two generally upright members, a first horizontal member adapted to be held at the lower end of said generally upright members, a first pair of clamps for tightly holding said first horizontal member at the lower ends of said upright members with the distance between the first clamps and the lower ends of said upright members being adjustable to space the lower ends of the upright members to correspond with the width of the stretched frame, a second horizontal member adapted to be held at an intermediate position on said generally upright members, a second pair of clamps for tightly holding said second horizontal member at the desired intermediate position on said upright members with the horizontal distance between the second clamps being adjustable to position the upright members directly behind the side edges of the stretcher frame, a third horizontal member adapted to be held at an upper position on said generally upright members, a third pair of clamps for tightly holding said third horizontal member at the desired upper position on said upright members with the horizontal distance between said third clamps being adjusted to position the upright members directly behind the side edges of the stretcher frame, a pair of elongated split tubular members mounted on said second and third horizontal members by means of hinge members, each of said hinge members having a fixed plate thereof for mounting and a moveable plate for adjustment, circumferentially-extending slots on each of said tubular members, fastening means fitting through said slots and rotatably holding said tubular members to the fixed plates of the hinges, recesses in the walls of said tubular members, each of said moveable plates on each of said hinges fitting through a recess of each of the tubular members and pivotally fixed to a wall of the tubular member, screw means on each of said hinge members for clampingly forcing the hinge plates rotatably together, a brace member attached to the rear side of said easel, and means for fastening said brace I member at a desired angle relative to said standard.

11. The easel defined in claim 10, in which the generally upright members are constructed in two sections and include fastening means for temporarily attaching said two sections together.

12. A compound easel for supporting an extra-large stretcher frame or the like including a pair of easels having horizontal members in which an end of each horizontal member of one easel is fastened to the end of the corresponding horizontal member of the other easel, each of said easels comprising a standard containing two generally upright members, a first horizontal member adapted to be held at the lower end of said generally upright members, a first pair of clamps for tightly holding said first horizontal member at the lower ends of said upright members with the distance between the first clamps and the lower ends of said upright members being adjustable, a second horizontal member adapted to be held at an intermediate position on said generally upright members, a second pair of clamps for tightly holding said second horizontal member at the desired intermediate position on said upright members with the horizontal distance between the second clamps being adjustable, a brace member hingedly attached to said second horizontal member; said brace including a foot member, a prop member extending between the second horizontal member and the foot member, a base member extending between the foot member and the first horizontal member, and an adjustable clamp for adjustably securing said base member to firmly hold said brace at a desired angle relative to said standard, and clamping means for holding work material in position on the front face of said generally upright standard.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,897,196 2/1933 Hunt -42 1,956,799 5/1934 Jessen 248-226 2,119,325 5/ 1938 Goodhart 248-226 2,233,911 3/1941 Carson 248-226 2,607,881 8/ 1952 Anderson 248-226 2,694,5 3 8 11/ 1954 Consoloetal 248-226 2,699,627 1/1955 Matthews 108-28 2,932,510 4/ 1960 Kravitz 248-206 2,984,443 5/1961 Bergengren 248-197 3,006,107 10/1961 Tolegian 248-444 3,095,665 7/ 1963 Killen 248-444 3,095,666 7/1963 Killen 248-444 3,122,858 3/1964 Kadin 248- FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner. 

1. AN EASEL COMPRISING A STANDARD CONTAINING TWO GENERALLY UPRIGHT MEMBERS, A FIRST HORIZONTAL MEMBER ADAPTED TO BE HELD AT THE LOWER END OF SAID GENERALLY UPRIGHT MEMBERS, A FIRST PAIR OF CLAMPS FOR TIGHTLY HOLDING SAID FIRST HORIZONTAL MEMBER AT THE LOWER ENDS OF SAID UPRIGHT MEMBERS WITH THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE FIRST CLAMPS AND THE LOWER ENDS OF SAID UPRIGHT MEMBERS BEING ADJUSTABLE, A SECOND HORIZONTAL MEMBER ADAPTED TO BE HELD AT AN INTERMEDIATE POSITION ON SAID GENERALLY UPRIGHT MEMBERS, A SECOND PAIR OF CLAMPS FOR TIGHTLY HOLDING SAID SECOND HORIZONTAL MEMBER AT THE DESIRED INTERMEDIATE POSITION ON SAID UPRIGHT MEMBERS WITH THE HORIZONTAL DISTANCE BETWEEN THE SECOND CLAMPS BEING ADJUSTABLE, A BRACE MEMBER HINGEDLY ATTACHED TO SAID SECOND HORI- 